The Mister Empty Conjecture Show: The Census Numbers in the Pentateuch
Published 2024-08-05
We are leading an Egypt and the Bible tour on March 2025. If you want to participate in the tour or would like more information, the link is www.jcbs.org/tours/jx25031025f62205 . The link to register is in the "Departure Dates" box.
If you feel like directly supporting the work of this channel, consider purchasing Ancient Egypt and the Bible merchandise from our store ( my-store-d6b412.creator-sprin... ) or by becoming a patron on my Patreon account ( www.patreon.com/egyptandthebible ).
You can also support us through Paypal using the address ( [email protected] )
Also consider purchasing my book, “The Ark of the Covenant in its Egyptian Context: An Illustrated Journey.” Available now through most major book retailers.
We are raising funds for a new book project on the “Ten Plagues of Egypt.” In this book, we plan to delve into the Egyptian culture context of the plagues of the Exodus so as to discover what those plaques would have meant to the Egyptians.
If you would like to help us with this project or wish to support our work financially and don’t want to be a Patreon member, please consider a donation to my a crypto currency wallet for Monero XMR ( 46RXpVRn5QtK25gU1naVa72tWa1nGdfGwK8npLaAZKwKQp9i8qbe1CDS5cjVcNX4Ug47Uh5Q8kid3eDV5za9b4saQ5sEWf5 ) or Bitcoin BTC ( bc1qn4hykytwr4kh8c2z9w05mqcq040h9vgtwl0pt5 ). Or if you still trust GoFundMe, to my GoFundMe campaign ( www.gofundme.com/help-david-falk-write-a-book-on-t… ).
If you want to continue on the conversation and meet other members of this community, you are invited to join us on our Discord community ( discord.gg/q5Bqz3Tauq )
The music for the open and closing credits was provided by Velocirabbit ( / velocirabbit - topic ).
All Comments (21)
-
Dr Falk ranked the mythicist view higher than the fundamentalist view 😡
-
Topic: clans and clades census interpretation in more depth. Thanks.
-
Dear David A. Falk, I have noticed that Lorenzo Nigro has recently published a 2023 paper titled "Tell es-Sultan/Jericho in the Late Bronze Age: An Overall Reconstruction in the Light of most Recent Research", where he argues that not only there is evidence that Tell es-Sultan/Jericho was inhabited during the Late Bronze Age but also that this LB city still played a role in the regional political framework of the Southern Levant, meaning that the city was apparently more prominent than what was previously thought. I know you already made a video discussing an earlier paper from Nigro on Jericho during the LB period, so I would like to ask if you could take a look at Nigro's paper and tell us what is your opinion about it. Thank you.
-
I was just hoping for this last week! Perfect timing
-
Great video as always Dr. Falk, and good to see Mr. Empty Conjecture again. Why would there be martial concerns? I can’t imagine is would be violence is bad.
-
Mr EC has returned!:_MrEC::_CoolDrFalk:
-
Thanks!
-
Hey Dr Falk, great video as usual. 👍
-
Also, I motion, Mr Ad Hominem should be an underware with angry eyes in marker pen. Let’s make him !
-
Very fun indeed! I still can’t get over how great the intro is!
-
Thanks :) I like the clan / clade theory too. This was a helpful overview of the options.
-
It makes sense to me that elaph in the Number census would have a meaning with some kind of military significance, since after all, as we are told in the passage, it is specifically men of fighting age that are being counted. If it were just a regular headcount, why not include everyone? And given that the Israelites were desert nomads at this point in history, and not an organized fighting force, it makes sense that the closest thing to military units that they would have to count would be... clans and clades.
-
The biggest kickers for me are the ratios and numerological statistics. A few in particular - the firstborns, 100s digits, and the spoils - suggest the numbers were later inflated or reinterpreted. Presuming they reflect an original reality, it makes most sense to me that the first 2 digits (000s) are actually the soldiers (or heros) and the 3rd digit (00s) are the number of clans or families. Each 100s digit is between 2-7, most about 4-5, which is statistically improbable unless they represented some group clustering. This gives about 600 fighting men in about 55-56 groups / clans, total population perhaps 2-3k. Now nearly all the ratios and statistics make more sense, as do the vast majority of the logistics. So long as other numbers were similarly inflated. I think this must be closest to the 8th view, will look more into it.
-
So, why is the martial view of the numbers a less favorable factor? Wouldn’t it be likely that they would organize themselves militarily? Why is that unfavorable to some?
-
Do you think people's interpretations of scripture are influenced by their definitions of inerrancy? Some believe inerrancy applies to the exact words, whereas I argue that the early rabbinical and Christian view held that inerrancy pertains to the meaning. From my seminary education, I learned that if evidence contradicts a literal reading, the evidence is considered flawed. This suggests to me that their presupposition is that inerrancy lies in the words themselves. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. I absolutely love your channel!
-
The clan/clade concept certainly seems head and shoulders above the rest, but what's the catch? There must be some downsides?
-
I've read from rabbis that the number is 600 families, imposible to know the exact number, each family with about 10-15 members, living within the a 2 stories house, a well known architecture from that time.
-
Just curious about all possible "after the Exodus" theories. Why stop at the time of David/Solomon? What was the population of the 12 tribes around the time of the Assyrian crisis? The Babylonian Exile? The Hasmonean Era (including the diaspora)?
-
Great content - 10 clean socks
-
Could you please elaborate on the views listed, esp the clans and clades view? THanks!
